September 30, 2008
Salazar, Udall: Bill’s Protections For Taxpayers Were Insufficient
By Mike Saccone
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Western Slope’s two congressmen, Manassa Democrat John Salazar and Eldorado Springs Democrat Mark Udall, both said a proposed $700 billion bailout for the faltering financial markets simply did not go far enough to protect taxpayers.
“I take very seriously the warnings about how conditions in the credit markets could affect the overall economy. But, the cost of this bailout was too high and the return far too uncertain for the American families who were being asked to bear the burden,” Udall said in a statement.
The legislation’s failure sparked a record drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and similar declines in other indexes. It have allowed the U.S. Treasury to buy up bad mortgages and other distressed assets held by commercial banks and other financial entities.
Salazar, whose district includes Grand Junction, said he thought the bill failed to do enough to help homeowners facing foreclosures.
“The bill is also deficient in that it provides no relief to homeowners who desperately want to remain in their homes but need direct assistance,” he said.
Reps. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan., and Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs., also voted against the bill, which died in a 205-228 vote.
The bill’s supporters, including Reps. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, and E Perlmutter, D-Golden., said they were discouraged that Congress did not act quickly enough to prevent the financial markets from tanking.
“Our nation faces serious economic challenges that require serious action,”
Congresswoman Diana DeGette, D-Denver, said in a statement Monday. “Doing nothing risks a freeze in our financial markets, further exacerbating the economic meltdown while everyday Americans suffer.
“After the vote today, about a trillion dollars of wealth in our economy evaporated in just a few hours.”
Though the two sides split in their support for the legislation, they agreed that Congress should go back to the negotiating table and hash out a second bill before the House adjourns for the fall.
July 31, 2008
Mark Udall Pledges to Work Toward Energy Solutions Before Congressional Recess
At yesterday’s pre-recorded debate between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall, the Boulder liberal Democrat candidate made a promise:
Schaffer, meanwhile, accused congressional Democrats of being more concerned with voting to recess at the end of the week than passing an energy plan. Agreeing to Schaffer’s challenge, Udall said he would not vote for a recess until an energy bill comes up.
At The Colorado Index, Civil Sense highlights the importance of Mark Udall’s promise and why it will be difficult for him to keep: Read more
July 30, 2008
Energy dominates Senate debate
Schaffer, Udall differ on methods
Democrat Mark Udall defended his alternative-energy plan in a U.S. Senate debate Monday, despite recent polls showing that Republicans are scoring points with calls to increase domestic drilling.
While Republican Bob Schaffer pushed for oil exploration and increased use of renewable energy, Udall said the country needs a new energy policy focused on renewables, nuclear plants and alternative-fuel cars. The Eldorado Springs congressman blasted Schaffer for working for an oil company and labeled him a “Johnny-come-lately” to the renewable energy bandwagon.
The debate was taped for broadcast Sunday on Fox 31.
Schaffer, a former congressman from Fort Collins, defended his record on renewable energy. Although the Congressional Record noted him discussing the topic only once on the House floor in six years, he talked about it more often outside Congress, Schaffer said. Read more
July 30, 2008
Democratic convention brings challenges to Denver
Fundraising for next month’s event is off by $10 million, Obama’s stadium speech is a logistical migraine and the catering menu is a laughingstock. Don’t even start with the flowers.
For nearly a decade, city leaders here have wooed the Democrats, hoping to lure their national convention to this often-overlooked town and showcase its new public transit system, bustling downtown and sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains.
Municipal leaders were jubilant when they won the right to hold this year’s event. But the convention is raising questions about whether this perennial booster town has bitten off more than it can chew. Read more
July 26, 2008
DNC Boondoggle: Carbon Credits Fund Broken Turbine
WRAY - The eastern Colorado wind turbine tapped for the Democratic National Convention’s carbon-offset program has one problem: It doesn’t generate any electricity. Convention organizers are now being questioned for their eagerness to market those credits to delegates.
July 23, 2008
Salazar, Limbaugh square off on shale
WASHINGTON — Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh attacked Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado today on the oil shale issue, while Democrat Salazar said the debate is not about lowering gas prices but about helping oil companies.
July 22, 2008
DNC host’s tax-free gas evaporates
Angry reaction brings a halt to use of city pumps
The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has used the city’s gas pumps to fill up and apparently avoided paying state and federal fuel taxes.
July 22, 2008
Montrose cuts sales tax to 3 percent
— Montrose consumers got good news Tuesday when the city announced it is chopping its sales tax rate one-half of a percentage point.
July 22, 2008
Officials must face rising costs of FasTracks
Regional Transportation District officials are wrestling with the difficult task of developing strategies and tactics needed to deal with the nearly $2 billion increase in estimated cost to complete the FasTracks program by 2017.
July 18, 2008
Jobless rate in state highest since 2005
Unemployment stood at 5.1% in June, up from 4.9% in May
Colorado’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.1 percent in June from 4.9 percent in May. It’s the highest rate since September 2005.
The number is also significantly worse than one year ago, when Colorado unemployment was 3.7 percent.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment notes that June is generally a month of rising unemployment throughout Colorado as student workers enter the job market. The department said that pattern held true as 49 of Colorado’s 64 counties recorded higher unemployment rates.
Government job-trackers at the state and federal level release unemployment rates, which are based on surveys of workers as well as a separate survey of employers that yields the official job-creation numbers.
Colorado had 2,389,400 jobs in June, 1.34 percent above June 2007 numbers, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The year-over-year rate of growth has slowed in eight of the past nine months, dating back to October. In September 2007, the number of Colorado jobs was 2.49 percent higher than September 2006, and job growth remained above 2 percent until March.
“Although employment growth has been positive, it has been too modest to absorb the state’s expanding labor force,” Donald J. Mares, executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, said in a statement.
The state labor department said the largest contributor to job growth has been the government sector, which showed a gain of 10,200 jobs and accounted for roughly one-third of net job gains since last June.
Education and health services gained 9,700 positions, while professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities, and leisure and hospitality each added more than 6,000 new workers since last June. Natural resources and mining employment rose 3,200, and other services trended up 1,800.
Two industries susceptible to the turmoil in the housing and credit markets - construction and financial services - fell 5,000 and 1,700, respectively, over the past year. Manufacturing, down 4,800, and information services, off 1,700, also shed jobs in the past 12 months.
Colorado’s best and worst
Counties with lowest June unemployment rates: * Yuma 2.8 percent
* Cheyenne 2.8 percent
Counties with highest June unemployment rates: * Costilla 9.2 percent
* Conejos 8.3 percent
Published in the Rocky Mountain News
by David Milstead
July 18, 2008
